8. Why Do We Do What We Do?

Abstract

Here I describe the reasoning behind dividing explanations for the evolution of behaviour into four different levels of explanation, two relating to proximate explanations relating to mechanism and development, and two ultimate explanations relating to evolutionary history and function. I outline the basic methods we can use to attempt to test functional hypotheses about the evolution of behaviour. I note that in natural populations, we often find ourselves studying proximate mechanisms even if our central interest is evolutionary function. I conclude that a distinction between proximate and ultimate explanations for behaviour can be a useful heuristic tool in many situations, even if in some real world studies of human behaviour, this distinction is sometimes blurred.